Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Wisconsin route planning
Apostle Islands Route Map: Sea Caves and Island Crossings
Mainland sea caves, outer-island lights and the Little Sand Bay landing, mapped from USGS and NRHP coordinates.
Every leg out here is exposed Lake Superior open water, and the mainland sea caves are only safe in settled conditions. The points below are fixed geographic references, not an official route: the National Park Service does not publish a numbered water trail for the crossing. The park does publish exact GPS coordinates for every island campsite, which is the list to plan your nights from.
Access points and landmarks
Trip-dependent; crossings between islands run several miles of open water each. Every coordinate below links to the published source it came from. Recheck access, closures, and water levels with the managing agency before you launch.
| Point | Role | Coordinates | Notes and source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meyers Beach | put in | 46.88359, -91.04803 | Mainland launch west of Bayfield and the access for the mainland sea caves in Mawikwe Bay. NPS site page; coordinate from USGS feature record ↗ |
| Sand Island Light | waypoint | 47.00331, -90.93742 | Brownstone lighthouse on the island's north end, with sea caves along the western shore. NPS site page; NRHP coordinate ↗ |
| Devils Island Light | waypoint | 47.07952, -90.72809 | Northernmost point in Wisconsin and the most committing crossing on the route. NPS site page; NRHP coordinate ↗ |
| Stockton Island | waypoint | 46.93806, -90.57861 | Largest island in the group, with a ranger station, docks and multiple campsite clusters. NPS site page; island centroid ↗ |
| Little Sand Bay | take out | 46.95021, -90.88574 | Mainland ramp and visitor contact station, the usual return landing from the outer islands. USGS GNIS feature record ↗ |
Shuttle planning runs between Meyers Beach and Little Sand Bay.
What we deliberately left off
- The mainland sea caves themselves — the Park Service describes the cave line along the Mawikwe Bay shore but does not publish a discrete coordinate for it.
Official sources
Distances and mileage figures come from the managing agency. Conditions change; this page is a planning aid, not a navigation chart.